Vintage vehicle LARC-y to make trip

THE trip along Nicklin Way in an amphibious vehicle didn't go as smoothly as LARC About owner Craig Seeley had hoped.

The vehicle, a LARC V, which stands for lighter, amphibious resupply, cargo, 5 ton, is more than 50 years old and was one of 1000 made for the military and one of only about 100 believed to be in private hands.

The LARC V was making the trip from its home in Caloundra to the Maroochydore Bunnings to be a part of the Better Homes and Garden Roadshow which will be filmed from the store this weekend.

While the 30km trip only usually takes around 25 minutes for a normal car, for the LARC V, that has a top speed of only 50kmh, it took longer and was unfortunately delayed further after it over heated in Bokarina and then was escorted by police for the final leg towards the hardware store.

Mr Seeley said despite the troubles the vehicle finally made it about two-and-a-half hours after it left.

"This was the longest drive it's done with me," he said.

"It's probably done longer in the past but it's now 50-plus years old so it was a bit of an effort for the LARC but we got there ok in the end.

"Thankfully all the traffic were really obliging and being able to sit in the left lane gave them all room to get around."

The LARC V would take a break from the road over the weekend and hit the water to take the Better Homes and Garden's cast for a tour.

"So I'll be taking them down into the Maroochy River to have a look around and capture what the Coast is about and then we'll drive through the town and show them a few of the sights on the way back to the store and the crew will be making their entrance into Bunnings on the LARC."

Mr Seeley said this event would add to the already extensive history of the vehicle which is believed to have been one of five LARCs used in the Battle of Long Tan.

The LARC can be viewed at Bunnings Warehouse Maroochydore on Dalton Drive until Saturday.

EARLIER:

IF YOU'RE in a hurry you might want to avoid the Nicklin Way this afternoon.

Craig Seeley of the Caloundra-based tourism company LARC ABOUT will drive his amphibious vehicle from Caloundra to the Maroochydore Bunnings this afternoon ahead of filming for the Better Homes and Gardens team.

The vehicle, called a LARC V (which stands lighter, amphibious resupply, cargo, 5 ton), is one of fewer than 1000 such vehicles made for the US military and is one of only about 100 believed to be in private hands.

Hopefully that sense of history will make you feel better if you get stuck behind it - apparently it has a top speed on land of less than 50kmh.

However, if you're interested in checking the vehicle out it will be leaving from Caloundra at 2pm and arriving in Maroochydore at Bunnings at approximately 3.30pm.

Everything you need to know about the LARC V:

LARC Vs were first developed in the 1950s.

The vehicle is made out of aluminium and has large balloon tyres which provide suspension and aid in floatation making it able to propel through water and drive on land.

They've been used by military forces in Australia, Argentina, Portugal, The Philippines and Iceland.